Top image: Cristóbal Balenciaga, courtesy Balenciaga

From Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty to David Bowie Is, London’s V&A has been responsible for some of the most major cultural exhibitions of the last few years. Today they have announced another blockbuster, set to celebrate the life and legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga.

Opening in May 2017, Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will be the first major retrospective on the Spanish couturier in the UK, marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of his first fashion house in San Sebastian and the 80th anniversary of the opening of his famous Paris salon in 1937.

Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will take an almost forensic look at the craftsmanship and skill that made Balenciaga’s creations so pioneering and explore how his work has shaped future fashion design.

With Vetements founder Demna Gvasalia currently at the helm, the exhibition comes at a pivotal time in the brand’s history. Gvasalia is taking the brand in a radical new direction by fusing the house’s codes with his own outlook on fashion. For SS17 he explored the connection between haute couture and fetishism with a spandex heavy collection and repurposed brooches from the archives.

At the exhibition, there will be around 100 garments on display and visitors will have the unique opportunity to delve into never-seen-before sketches, photos and fabrics from the museum’s important Balenciaga archive collection

‘Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion’ will be on show from May 27th 2017–February 18th 2018 at at the V&A, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL